Apple Reportedly Integrating NFC Technology into iPhone 6

Apple is gearing up to incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 6, according to a report from BrightWire citing sources familiar with the matter. The report also notes that Apple has struck a deal with China UnionPay to integrate the banking company's services into Passbook and elsewhere.

iphone_visa_mobile_payment

Apple is likely to incorporate a Near Field Communication (NFC) payment function in the next generation iPhone and has reached an agreement with China UnionPay on a mobile payment service, according to a source close to the matter.

...In addition to NFC payment, the two companies will also work together on another mobile payment solution that can be used for purchases in Apple Stores, added the source.

Integrating NFC into the iPhone 6 would be a bit of a surprise move by Apple, as the company's head of marketing Phil Schiller stated in 2012 that the technology was "not the solution to any current problem." Notably, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted last month that Apple would integrate NFC chips into the next-generation iPhone alongside a host of other features.

The news also comes as Apple is pursuing plans to develop a mobile payment solution, which will be possibly tied to the Touch ID fingerprint sensor currently found in the iPhone 5s and reportedly headed for the iPhone 6 and next-generation iPads. It is also possible that Apple combines its existing Touch ID fingerprint scanner and NFC technology into the home button, as the company filed for a patent detailing such a system last September.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 in two sizes of 4.7-inches and 5.5-inches later this year, with the smaller version of the phone launching ahead of the larger model. Aside from a larger display, the iPhone 6 will likely feature a thinner profile, a faster A8 processor, and an improved camera in the form of image stabilization. Apple is also said to be negotating with carriers for a $100 price increase on the iPhone 6.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...

Top Rated Comments

Futurix Avatar
149 months ago
Gosh, it's like 2013 predictions all over again... or 2012... or 2011... or 2010...
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
squan Avatar
149 months ago
Here in Belgium people mocked my iPhone for not having NFC, then when I asked if they had ever used it on their masterrace phone, they went like: "... No, but it's coming soon, so..."

To this day, I have never encountered something that supports NFC. And neither have they.

Is it the same in the States or elsewhere? Is it slowly becoming more popular? Because then it would make sense to incorporate it, as the time is (finally) ripe.

I hate putting in technology for the sake of putting in technology.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sandstorm Avatar
149 months ago
One of the reasons slowing the successful and widespread use of NFC was the lack of it on the iPhone. I hope Apple finally adds NFC (it's great!), but I'm also a bit pissed off it will happen so late.

Personally I'm saddened that more and more Apple is now catching up, late, slow, neglecting (Mac Pro, now Mac Mini, Apple TV (outdated UI, no App Store)). Apple also overslept the streaming music revolution (think Spotify). I don't buy this BS about "getting it right". If Google can figure out NFC, Apple can too. And Apple also can put a current-gen processor in a Mac Mini and not neglect it for 2 years, even if they are working (I'm guessing) on a completely new thinner version (OMG, thinner, can you believe it).

Sorry for the rant, but I seriously start to lose my admiration for Apple.

PS - my brand new iPhone 5s hangs up and restarts at least once or twice a day. WTF! :mad:
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
attila Avatar
149 months ago
So Apple won't try to push iBeacons and Bluetooth 4 and just give in to competition?

Colour me sceptical.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sandstorm Avatar
149 months ago
Here in Belgium people mocked my iPhone for not having NFC, then when I asked if they had ever used it on their masterrace phone, they went like: "... No, but it's coming soon, so..."

To this day, I have never encountered something that supports NFC. And neither have they.

Is it the same in the States or elsewhere? Is it slowly becoming more popular? Because then it would make sense to incorporate it, as the time is (finally) ripe.

I hate putting in technology for the sake of putting in technology.
But how can a technology like NFC become widespread, if one of the leading platforms (iPhone) is not using it? This is not technology for the sake of technology. This is the old chicken and egg problem.

And to everyone screaming how stupid and worthless NFC is - let's see your comments after Apple adds NFC. Surely then you'll sing a different tune. Probably something along the lines of "finally doing it right" and so on. I'm getting sick of this *****.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lk400 Avatar
149 months ago
It really is about time they did this, for competitiveness' sake if for no other reason.

If they dont believe in the technology, then thats a terrible reason to advocate including a feature.

We dont think this technology is very good, but some other companies are doing it so - here it is.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)